Christmas Recipes Please?

Lillibet_2

I'm cheasting too & copying & pasting this from the Christmas support thread instead of re-typing it, so many people have PM'd me about this :

Alternative Christmas Pudding : Autum Pudding (like a summer pudding)

Make white loaf or fruit loaf according to breadmaker instructions. I made a white loaf with about 4 tablespoons extra sugar, a large cup of sultanas & some ground all spice.

Pick whatever free fruit you can find near you, I used apples, plums & blackberries. Slice & cook the plums & apples with a few tablespoons of sugar in a bowl in the microwave, no liquid or anything added as you want them to hold their shape.

Line a pyrex dish with the bread. Start by cutting a circle for the bottom then add slices around the side until it is fully lined, if the crust is quite hard cut it off but leave if it is soft. If it is a very big bowl or if you don't have quite enough fruit you can add a extra slice of bread halfway through the fruit.

Mix the cooked fruit with the uncooked soft fruit, add some apple juice, some vanilla extract or a pod or use vanilla sugar in the fruit, I used ginger honey as I didn't have any ginger, & a pinch of nutmeg, but you could adapt spices to taste : cinnamon, nutmeg, ground all spice etc would all work too. You could possibly also use some sort of liqueur instead of the apple juice, depending on taste. I couldnt' think what so didn't bother.

Pile fruit mix into bread lined bowl. & add slices of bread to top until completey covered. Clingfilm & place in fridge with something heavy on top to "set" & allow juces to seep through to the bread. It won't be as stongly coloured as a summer pudding so you could either make a fruit puree type sauce nearer the time or accpet it as is, this is why I made sultana bread as I thought it would look nicer as you could see it. (Hope this makes sense?)

Left in fridge over night then popped into freezer. Tomorrow I will turn out of bowl & just wrap in clingflim & stick back into freezer until needed. I will probably defrost back in the same bowl to ensure it holds it's shape. When ready to serve turn out onto a plate so that it is upside down.

Hopefully when presented it will look like a kind of alternative Christmas pudding, I may even stick a sprig of holly on top.

Nice & cheap as I only used free fruit & HM bread. Rubarb might work in it if you have any, pears would be good, cranberries if serving at xmas, also raspberries although they would give it a traditional summer pudding colour which I was trying to avoid as I wanted it to be a bit different.

Of course, I haven't tasted it yet, it might turn out to be pants:p

twink

this is one i do most years and is very tasty, i usually do it in a loaf tin and serve it sliced
sausage stuffing

1lb good sausagemeat
2oz streaky bacon
liver from chicken or turkey
1 onion
1 egg
2oz fresh breadcrumbs and seasoning
i put the bacon, liver and onion in the processor and whizz just a very short time then add it to the sausagemeat and mix by hand, moisten with a little stock if nec then put in loaf tin, then pop in the oven with everything else about 180o till ready, sorry not sure of time, but it will look ready, never had time to time it

wendym

I always make a terrine (can solve Christmas Eve, or keep till Boxing Day).

Exact quantities don't matter:

Ideally, line an oven-proof dish with bacon strips (looks nice when it's turned out, but not essential).

Mix together minced pork/ chicken/ turkey, plus rind and juice of a lemon, a dash of sherry or brandy, and spoon into lined dish. If it seems dry, add a little more liquid (water is fine). If you haven't used a lidded dish, top it with foil, and sit the whole thing in a roasting try with some water (bain marie).

Depending on the size you've made, cook at 180-ish until the juices run clear, then remove the lid and the bain marie and zap it at a higher temp for 10 minutes-ish to brown the bacon.

When it's cold, turn it out, slice not too thickly, and hide remainder from SIL.

One year we had so many cranberries that I added some, chopped, but unless you're a real fan I don't think they added anything.

twink

my christmas cake recipe 8 inch round or 7 inch square

225g/8oz butter, chopped plus extra for greasing
300g/10oz dark muscovado sugar
2x 500g bags luxury mixed dried fruit
fine grated rind and juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon
125ml/ 4fl oz brandy or sherry or apple or orange juice for non- alcoholic
100g packet whole blanched almonds, i use walnuts
4 lrge eggs, lightly beat
100g pkt ground almonds
300g/10oz plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1tsp mixed spice
1tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, fresh grated is best

cut double thickness greaseproof paper, 2 inch deeper than tin and long enough to go round inside of tin with overlap, snip paper round the bottom to make it sit better in tin, grease the tin and fit the paper round then double thickness to cover the bottom

step 1
take a big pan and put butter, sugar, dried fruit, citrus rind and juices and
brandy and bring slowly to boil, stirring till butter has melted, reduce heat and let it bubble gently 10 mins, stir occas

step 2 preheat oven 150c/ gas2/ fan oven cook from cold 130oc

step 3
take pan from heat, cool 30mins
toast almonds in dry frying pan till evenly browned and chop roughly
working in the pan add eggs, chopped and ground almonds, mix well, put a sieve over pan, sift in the flour, baking powder and spices, stir in gently so no trace of flour left

step 4 spoon into tin, press well into corners and smooth top

step 5
bake 1hr then reduce heat to 140oc/ gas1/ fan oven 120oc and bake further 2-21/2 hrs until dark golden and firm to touch, cover with foil if nec
test with a skewer, cool in tin 15 mins, then turn out, peel off paper and cool on a wire rack
wrap in double thickness greaseproof then tin foil

feeding the cake
invert cake and make holes over the base with a fine skewer, spoon 2tbsps brandy over the holes till it soaks in , rewrap and repeat weekly till icing

it may seem like a lot of work but it is really easy and delicious, this recipe appealed to me as it is an all in one cake

flourgirl

What about Mincemeat Muffins

Makes 12

250g Plain flour (Wholemeal)
3 level teaspoons Baking Powder
3 level tablespoons Caster Sugar
2 large Eggs
zest 1 Orange (grated)
175ml (6fl oz) Milk
75g Margarine (melted)
12 teaspoons Mincemeat.

Method. pre-heat oven to 200c 400f or gas mark 6
Sift flour and baking powder into large bowl, then stir in sugar
In a seperate bowl, beat the eggs orange zest and milk
Stir the melted margarine into the milk mixture, pour this into the flour. Stir with a metal spoon for a dozen-ish strokes, then stop. The mixture will be lumpy and not all stirred in but it is important not to over mix.
Use half the mixture spooned into the muffin cases, then add a teaspoon of mincemeat to each one then cover with the rest of the mixture.
Bake for about 25-30 mins. or until risen and golden. Then leave to settle 2mins before removing from tins.

These are really delicious and a change from mince pies, Good for the kids lunch boxes too, not just at Christmas but any time.

wendym

How could I have forgotten my grandmother's sage and onion stuffing? It sounds really odd, but is delicious. She always cooked it separately from the bird.

These are rough quantities.

Quarter 2 or 3 onions, and boil until soft. Take half a large white loaf, and hold it whole (or a few slices at a time) under a gently running tap until it's wet, then squeeze out water until you have doughy bread. Pull this into pieces in a bowl, then add the cooked onion, chopping it in with a knife until the onion is in 50p sizes pieces.Then add a generous handful of fresh sage, salt and pepper, and spoon it into a greased oven proof dish. Dot the top with butter, and bake for 30/40 minutes. It is done when the top is crunchy. It's even more delicious with some of the turkey/chicken juices poured over it as it's cooking. It re-heats very well, so I usually make it on Christmas Eve.

furrypig

thanks for all these yummy recipes it's getting me all excited about Christmas and home baking!

beachbeth

I always make this stuffing for Christmas. I would get a lot of moans if I didn't make it! I make it weeks ahead and freeze and then I just have to get it out on Christmas Eve ready to put in the oven on Christmas day!

4oz butter
1 lb pork sausage meat (or sausages with skin removed)
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 tbs chicken livers or liver from the turkey, chopped
8oz breadcrumbs (I use dry bread whizzed in food processor)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley (I usually use frozen)
2 fl oz sherry
2 fl oz single cream

Melt the butter in a pan and add the sausagemeat to this. Keep breaking up with a fork as it cooks. Once cooked remove with a slotted spoon and put in a large mixing bowl. Add the onions and liver to the butter and cook this until the onion is soft. Remove this with a slotted spoon and add to the sausagemeat. This is all the cooking you have to do!

Now add the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper,thyme, rosemary and parsley and mix well. Mix in the sherry and cream. The stuffing is now ready to use. I place in a large, shallow dish and freeze. On Christmas day I put a few blobs of butter on the top, cover with foil and cook in the oven for at least half an hour on Gas 4, 180C. If you prefer a more crispy top then don't cover with the foil. Absolutely yummy!

beachbeth

For dessert I always make this trifle:

Make up a packet of raspberry jelly and leave to set (you can make it strawberry if you prefer)

Slice four trifle sponges up and spread in them raspberry/strawberry jam, as though you are making sandwiches with them! Cut each 'sandwich' in half and arrange in the bottom of a trifle bowl. Put about 2 oz of sherry in a bowl or cup with a tablespoon of orange squash/fruit juice (I don't really measure this, you just need enough to soak the sponges with). Spoon over the sponges until they are soaked through.

Crush a few amaretti biscuits (you can leave these out if you prefer) and put a thin layer of these on the sponges. Chop up the jelly roughly and put this in next.

Next make up a pint of custard (or make your own homemade custard if you know how! I use Birds myself!) and put the custard on and leave to set. Then make up a pint of raspberry/strawberry blancmange and this makes the next layer. Then, of course, finish off with plenty of double cream, whisked and decorate with Christmassy decorations.

You can use vanilla blancmange instead but then I put it in before the custard so that the pale colour of the blancmange isn't next to the cream, if you get what I mean!

twink

flowery fudge

sift 1lb icing sugar into a large bowl
put 100g/4oz marshmallows into a pan with 2tbsps milk, 4oz butter and a few drops vanilla essence
heat gently, stirring till mix has melted. pour into the icing sugar, mix till smooth andadd a few drops red food colouring
leave to cool, then wrap in clingfilm and put in fridge three hours
sprinkle some icing sugar on work surface and roll out to 5mm
cut out shapes with a flower shaped cuter, then dab the centre with a little egg white and sprinkle on hundreds and thousands

this makes about 70 shapes and will last a week in an airtight container in fridge